NBA Player Kevin Love Opens Up About Struggling with Panic Attacks, Talks Mental Health

Cleveland Cavaliers player Kevin Love is opening up about suffering from a panic attack halfway through a recent basketball game.

In an article titled “Everything is Going Through Something” published on The Players’ Tribune on Tuesday (March 6), the 29-year-old NBA player revealed that he had to leave the game back on November 5 after suffering from a panic attack.

“After halftime, it all hit the fan. Coach [Tyronn] Lue called a timeout in the third quarter. When I got to the bench, I felt my heart racing faster than usual,” Kevin writes. “Then I was having trouble catching my breath. It’s hard to describe, but everything was spinning, like my brain was trying to climb out of my head. The air felt thick and heavy. My mouth was like chalk. I remember our assistant coach yelling something about a defensive set. I nodded, but I didn’t hear much of what he said. By that point, I was freaking out. When I got up to walk out of the huddle, I knew I couldn’t reenter the game — like, literally couldn’t do it physically.”

Kevin continues: “Coach Lue came up to me. I think he could sense something was wrong. I blurted something like, “I’ll be right back,” and I ran back to the locker room. I was running from room to room, like I was looking for something I couldn’t find. Really I was just hoping my heart would stop racing. It was like my body was trying to say to me, You’re about to die. I ended up on the floor in the training room, lying on my back, trying to get enough air to breathe.”

After being hospitalized and finding out he was fine physically, Kevin started seeing a therapist that has helped him acknowledge his feelings and struggles.

“The reality is that we probably have a lot in common with what our friends and colleagues and neighbors are dealing with,” Kevin writes. “So I’m not saying everyone should share all their deepest secrets — not everything should be public and it’s every person’s choice. But creating a better environment for talking about mental health … that’s where we need to get to.”

You can read all of Kevin‘s article at ThePlayersTribune.com.